Right: Four green LEDs give
pilots instant feedback on
the capacity remaining in a
battery pack.

The 4,480 mAh Phantom 3 Intelligent Flight
Battery is good for as much as 23 minutes
of flight duration and provides the software
application with a number of important pieces
of data while in flight.

The P3P has a
locked-in feel while in
flight that is the best I
have ever experienced!
Return the sticks to
neutral while in fast
forward flight and the
P3P will utilize a new
feature called Active
Braking. The aircraft will not simply skid
to a stop when the sticks are released. It
will attempt to momentarily reverse its
direction of travel in an effort to remain
in the position it was in when it initially
received the hold command.

The P3P features a number of post-flight niceties. One is the Flight Log app
that lists the flight duration, maximum
altitude, and a host of other flight-related data. It even allows a pilot to
replay the entire flight, with an overlay
of the controller sticks showing all stick
movements made during the flight. Any
media shot during the flight is tagged on
the GPS map.

Another worthwhile feature is the
Director app. Not all pilots are avid video
editors. Many may not even have easy
access to an editing package or computer
on which to do it! For these people,
the DJI Pilot app contains a built-in
quick-and-dirty editing application.

10-second clips from the videos already
shot and assemble them into one of
four templates, each of which has a
unique soundtrack. Once assembled,
the completed video can be uploaded
directly to the Web from within the Pilot
app.

DJI even includes a P3P flight
simulator, allowing pilots to build
proficiency without ever leaving the
ground!

When I wrote this review, additional
flight batteries were unavailable from
DJI, resulting in an excessive amount
of time spent waiting for the sole flight
battery to recharge. Most pilots will
undoubtedly want to grab a spare battery
pack or two when they do become
available.

Conclusion

DJI deserves recognition for the overall
engineering excellence in the Phantom 3
Professional! There is incredible depth to
its features and in-flight capabilities. The
P3P makes it possible for aspiring 4K
film producers to shoot mind-blowing
aerial media of cinematic quality on a
budget. Those who have never flown a
drone will like the way the P3P offers
nearly foolproof in-flight stability and
performance.
I did face several minor gimbal issues,
including a slight mechanical imbalance
and a tendency to drift from being level
with the horizon. I am confident that
DJI will address the latter issue in future
firmware updates. The former issue does
not seem to adversely affect the gimbal’s
ability to perform its intended function.

The video that I have shot thus far is
incredibly smooth and stable. The 720p
real-time video downfeed gives pilots
and photographers an unparalleled FPV
experience that allows them to frame
their shots with precision. The DJI
4K-capable camera combines with the
three-axis gimbal to transform even the
most mundane subject into smooth,
epic-looking video!

I am especially excited to see what
functionality DJI will add to the
Phantom 3 platform moving forward.
Several icons positioned near the bottom
of the Phantom 3 product information
page define features that currently do
not appear to exist as a part of the DJI
application, hinting at additional features
that might soon become available.

The Follow Me mode is described
as allowing the drone to automatically
remain focused on and follow the pilot.
The advertised Ground Station and
Point of Interest modes indicate that
the Phantom 3 might soon support
waypoints and semi-autonomous flight
capabilities.

A High Definition Multimedia
Interface (HDMI) module for the
controller is also planned, potentially
allowing pilots to connect any HDMI-compatible display to the controller.